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Italians love to celebrate family holidays together and Easter is a big one in this traditional Catholic country. Sharing special food items is a major part of any holiday in Italy and at Easter time one of the most popular items devoured by everyone is the well known Colomba Pasquale, a type of Easter bread. The history of the Colomba dates back to 1176 commemorating the victory of Lombardia over the Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa. According to legend two doves representing the Holy Ghost appeared on the battle grounds. Often the Colomba today is made in the shape of a dove. There are other legends dating back to 572 involving maidens who were given reluctantly to King Alboin. The 12th maiden created a sweet bread to represent the symbol of peace in the shape of a dove. She charmed the king and he set her free sparing Pavia from destruction. Colomba Pasquale has been around a very long time varying in size, shape and toppings. Choose one while you are celebrating your Easter holiday and decide for yourself which you think is the tastiest of all.

Italians love to celebrate family holidays together and Easter is a big one in this traditional Catholic country. Sharing special food items is a major part of any holiday in Italy and at Easter time one of the most popular items devoured by everyone is the well known Colomba Pasquale, a type of Easter bread.…

Perhaps one of the most popular carnivals in Italy known to tourists takes place in Venice. However, Venice is not the only city celebrating this folkloric festival of masked balls, lights, flash, floats and fireworks. Carnivale, or “carnem upbeat” in Latin describes the banquet held on the last day prior to the fasting of lent observed by the Christians. The carnival period today is still celebrated between the Epiphany of January 06 and the period of Lent. Here in Tuscany the city of Viareggio known as the pearl of the Tyrrhenian Sea began celebrating its first carnival in 1873. Today local artisans take pride in building ceremonial floats made of wood, plaster and jute. The spectacular parades known to be some of the most beautiful and magnificent in the world stroll along the handsome promenade with the Apuan Alps as the backdrop. For the month of February until the beginning of March this seaside city of Viareggio vibrantly displays carnival season with parades, events in various districts, and splashy fireworks. From the doldrums of winter the city awakens to the new beginning of the spring season.

Perhaps one of the most popular carnivals in Italy known to tourists takes place in Venice. However, Venice is not the only city celebrating this folkloric festival of masked balls, lights, flash, floats and fireworks. Carnivale, or “carnem upbeat” in Latin describes the banquet held on the last day prior to the fasting of lent…

New Year celebrations in Tuscany are all about fireworks and feasting and getting together with friends and family. Every city and most towns put on a fireworks display, and concerts – from jazz to opera – are held in the piazzas. And, as with everything in the region, it’s all part of an old tradition. The joy of welcoming in a new year is that you get to make a fresh start, but in order to do that properly you need to chase the old year away. And what better way to do that than by scaring it away with lots of noise?! Hence the fireworks and the music, which were once believed to chase away bad spirits – though now, of course, people mainly just do it for fun. In southern Italy people used to throw out old pots and pans on New Year’s Eve, symbolically throwing out the old year and scaring it away at the same time. And, to bring them extra luck, they wore red underwear over the festive period – men as well as the women – though this tradition has largely died out. Still, it explains why we see so many red undies in the shops at this time of year. One tradition in no danger of dying out in Tuscany is a New Year’s feast featuring cotechino, a big tasty pork sausage, served with a generous dish of delicious lentils. The more lentils the better, since they’re believed to bring you wealth. Gifts of dried fruits, like figs and dates, wrapped in laurel leaves, are also traditional. As is a glass of chilled prosecco and a toast among friends. Salute! May we wish all our clients Buon Anno! Best wishes for 2017 from your Discover Tuscany team!

New Year celebrations in Tuscany are all about fireworks and feasting and getting together with friends and family. Every city and most towns put on a fireworks display, and concerts – from jazz to opera – are held in the piazzas. And, as with everything in the region, it’s all part of an old tradition.…

Between now and mid-November, it’s olive harvest time in Tuscany – a labor-intensive process done entirely by hand using an instrument that ‘combs’ the olives from the trees. This old method is still preferred since mechanical harvesters can damage the olives, and they say that one bruised olive can ruin an entire barrel of oil. Often referred to as ‘green gold’, Tuscan olive oil is special for many reasons. For one thing, the olives are harvested while they’re still green because of the danger of early frosts. (In more southern parts of Italy the harvest can be as late as January.) Less ripe olives yield less oil (around 200 olives per liter of oil), making Tuscan oil more hard to come by and also giving it its prized peppery taste. As soon as they’re harvested the olives are rushed to the frantoio, or oil press. Speed is essential to avoid the risk of oxidation or fermentation, which would make the oil taste rancid. The olives are crushed, then further processed to separate the oil from the water, and the fresh, fragrant oil is poured into traditional terracotta jugs or more modern steel tanks. It is then left to sit for 30 to 40 days before being filtered and bottled. If you’re buying Tuscan olive oil, you need to make sure it’s the real thing. Check that the label says Extra Virgin (less that 0.3% free fatty acid content) or Virgin (less than 2% acidity) olive oil, grown and produced in Tuscany. Also make sure that it comes in a dark green bottle. This is to help prevent breakdown caused by light. No Tuscan oil producer would ever sell his oil in a clear bottle. And, remember, unlike some wines, olive oil does not improve with time. It’ll be at its

Between now and mid-November, it’s olive harvest time in Tuscany – a labor-intensive process done entirely by hand using an instrument that ‘combs’ the olives from the trees. This old method is still preferred since mechanical harvesters can damage the olives, and they say that one bruised olive can ruin an entire barrel of oil.…